A U.S. judge has invoked Dr Seuss’s The Lorax in a legal ruling blocking President Donald Trump from cutting down trees at a historic Washington D.C. golf course.
Ana C. Reyes, a Biden-appointed Judge for the District of Columbia, sought to block the removal of hundreds of trees from the East Potomac Golf Course after it was ordered by the Department of the Interior as part of renovation plans for the course.
According to the legal filing reviewed by Newsweek, roughly 430 trees were removed by the National Park Service in early October.
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“The reason? Disputed. The budget? Unclear. The environmental impact? Unstudied. The urgency? None. Next steps: bulldoze hundreds more,” Judge Reyes wrote.
The filing granted a motion for a temporary restraining order.
“If no injunctive relief is awarded, ‘the ground, landscape and vistas will be irrevocably altered’ because ‘destroyed trees cannot be replaced,'” the suit states.
A footnote then adds, “Just ask the Lorax,” in reference to the Dr Seuss book.
The White House referred Newsweek to the Department of Interior when contacted for comment. Newsweek contacted the Department of the Interior, and the National Park Service outside of regular business hours via email for comment.
The Trump Administration’s Plans for the East Potomac Golf Course
The Trump administration intends to renovate the 106-year-old public golf course into a championship-level golf venue.
President Donald Trump confirmed the changes in a post on Truth Social in June. The president, who is a keen golf player, described the course as “virtually unplayable,” and said it would be designed to the “Highest Standards of Golf,” but “in such a way that the General Public will love it.”
The government has said that the changes were recommended in a 2019 report from the National Parks Service, which said that in order to create a championship-style venue, the removal of several hundred trees would be required.
A spokesperson for the U.S. Department of the Interior told Newsweek on Monday, “The National Park Service is finally implementing a 7-year-old plan to address tree overgrowth at East Potomac Golf Course.”
“The work will include selective tree and vegetation work to restore the course,” the spokesperson added, and said that it is guided by the 2019 Cultural Landscape Report and will help to restore the course’s “historic character and reopen views toward landmarks.”
The southwest Washington golf course is regarded as one of the most historically significant in the country, having played a role in the fight for Civil Rights. Black golfers challenged segregation there back in 1941, which prompted then-Interior Secretary Harold Ickes to order the course to be open to all players.
Why The Removal of Trees Is Being Challenged
Despite the administration’s push to renovate the course, the removal of the trees has been met with opposition.
In the suit, Reyes concluded that the tree removal is being rushed through at the behest of the president despite questions over appropriate authority.
“The Court concludes, on this limited record, that government officials raced to undertake the TMP because President Trump demands haste on his redesign, and not because of some newfound zeal to implement a small part of a seven-year-old CLR,” the filing states.
At a hearing on Monday, Reyes said that she had repeatedly instructed the government to notify parties prior to the onset of major demolition work.
Reyes said that the removal of more than 500 trees without adequate notice has “cost the government all of its credibility,” in the case. She added that she was at a “total loss” with the government’s actions.
In a statement to Newsweek on Monday morning, Skye Perryman, the Democracy Forward President and CEO, said, “This is a tactic we’re seen before from the Trump-Vance administration—act quickly to irrevocably alter a cherished national landmark, just to advance another one of President Donald Trump’s pet vanity projects.”
According to its website, Democracy Forward challenges “abuses of power that undermine good government, supports advocates engaged in transformative work, and exposes overlooked threats to democracy.”
Trump’s Washington Beautification Hits Repeated Legal Challenges
During his second term in office, Trump has embarked upon a number of renovation projects and beautification efforts in the nation’s capital, many of which were tied to semiquincentennial celebrations over the summer.
Trump has overseen some of the most significant renovations at the people’s house in modern presidential history, from the Rose Garden being paved over to decorations in the Oval Office and the construction of a ballroom in the East Wing.
The construction of the ballroom in particular has faced a number of legal challenges and criticism.
There was also the embattled renovation of the Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool, which made headlines after the pool faced a myriad of issues, including algal blooms and peeling material, and was met with a legal challenge from the nonprofit Cultural Landscape Foundation, which tried to halt the renovation project, arguing that the administration had failed to comply with requirements under the National Historic Preservation Act.
Trump’s proposed triumphal arch in front of the Arlington National Cemetery has been hit with legal challenges, as the Arlington County Board seeks to halt the “feverish pace” of construction of the arch.
What Happens Next
The temporary restraining order is in effect until Monday, October 26.
Contact Newsweek editor on this story: Edward Pearcey.